What was nice about being an Interior Communications Electrician is the amount of time I got to spend in clean, comfortable, air conditioned spaces throughout the ship.

Except for those times when I found myself in spaces that were dirty and hazardous to one’s health…which was most of the places we worked in, now that I think about it.

One place in particular I came to loath was the Electromagnetic Underwater Log Rodmeter Compartment, more commonly known (by us, at least) as the Pitsword Trunk.

It was an unusual space, about 4 feet by 4 feet by 15 feet. At the top was a hatch, which weighed about as much as a small humanoid (think Verne Troyer), which needed be kept closed at all times (except when somebody was in there working). You would climb a ladder down about 6 feet, and step onto a narrow, slimy shelf. From there, there was another ladder which went down to the bottom, which was generally covered by about a foot of seawater.

Whats the deal with all these online pawn shops? I’m talking about Cash 4 Gold, US Gold Buyers, Things We Buy, and so on. Are people too lazy to go to a real pawn shop? Is the economy that bad where people are needing to sell possessions like heirlooms and antiques in order to survive?

I have a few more posts about my Navy life in the works, but unfortunately I don’t think they are interesting enough bother with. For example, I drew a map on MS Paint of my shop, it was all detailed and every section of that shop has a story behind it, but like I said, I don’t think any of you really care.

But then again, what is it that YOU, the reader, really cares about in the first place?

I suppose that lately I have been on a “military kick” of sorts. Recently I unearthed from the closet my old sea bag full of uniforms, and that is probably what brought back all the memories.

I suppose I also need to admit what my “life changing plans” were all about. If you don’t know what I mean, you will after reading this. Read the rest of this entry »

When I rented my first apartment with my Navy buddy Jared, we inadvertently choose the apartment for it’s “style.” As far as apartments went, it was pretty cool, and it was probably as big as the house I live in now. What we realized soon enough was that it was within walking distance to a billiards hall. And I mean really close, like across the street and through a Food Lion parking lot.

Food Lion is a grocery store, by the way. Not a lion that you can eat, as delicious as that may seem.

We often hung out at this pool hall, especially because if you went before 10pm it was all ages. Sadly, by the time either of us turned 21, we had moved on and no longer lived in that apartment.

So there I was, bent over an exam table, naked except for a t-shirt and socks, with my boxers around my ankles. I may or may not have had my boots on, I don’t recall.

If that isn’t a good way to start out a post, I don’t know what is.

The Doc injects my lower back with some Novocaine, I guess. It was probably some generic version, because I could still feel him cutting into the flesh with a scalpel. It didn’t hurt, but the fact that I knew what he was doing back there with a knife made me wince anyway. As he was slicing, I was curling my toes involuntarily in reaction to the sensation. Always the Sailor, he said “Do you always curl your toes when you are in pain?”

It’s an orgasm joke.

Anyway, as he was slicing downward, he must have hit a sweet spot, because I felt release.

I noticed an “abnormality” where the cyst was about a week before I went on restriction for the last time, right before I got out of the Navy in June 2003.

This abnormality would cause a sensation of discomfort when I sat down on a hard backed chair, which was just about the only type of chair available on a ship. Also, when I laid down in my rack (or an empty rack), I noticed that my lower back would ache. By lower back I mean the spot right above where my ass crack starts its way southward. By “ache” I mean it felt tight, kind of like how one of those huge under the skin pimples will feel before it comes to a head.

I was not willing to accept that it was one of those huge under the skin pimples, as it was absolutely huge and on my lower back. Also, I have had problems with my erector Read the rest of this entry »